Olympic decathlon champion Ashton Eaton has a few ideas to boost the appeal of the sport.

“I believe decathlon should have a hand in the Diamond League circuit. I would say we should compete across five competitions, with two events per competition like, 100m and long jump for one meeting and then shot and high jump the next. 

"I think this would be a good timeframe and keep people interested in the multis. A similar competition could also be run for the women multi-eventers.”

One of the lads: Eaton (second from right) and 25 fellow Olympic decathletes

“For me, this would be fair, although I guess why we are not included is, we are not the flashiest of athletes. The long jump specialists would leap 8.20-8.30m while the multi-eventers would be down at around 7.50-7.60m, for example.

"I also think that for the horizontal jumps and the throws, each athlete should be assigned a certain colour marker, and the marker be placed on the grass or in the sand: to indicate their longest effort.

"It would be great for the fans, but it would also be good for the athlete. If I was running down the runway and I saw my marker it would be a huge motivation to hold that jump for longer in mid-air.”